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Post by trehopr1 on Jan 27, 2016 19:24:19 GMT
Ever since I made my first trip to Florida (circa.1973) and sighted my very first Heliconiid butterfly (Heliconius charitonius) aka. Zebra butterfly; I've always had a special like for this often overlooked group. I find them to be lovely butterflies with an elegant wing shape and a natural easy going flapping flight which allows an observer time to appreciate their winged beauty. It would be very nice if any members with any holdings of these butterflies could maybe show us some. I have captured very few myself in my travels and have acquired very few in purchases as well.
They are still a great group of butterflies which seem to get little recognition. Could I be wrong?
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Post by deliasfanatic on Jan 27, 2016 19:33:19 GMT
I like them very much; no "ready made" photos but I'll add them to my to-do list.
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Post by timmsyrj on Jan 27, 2016 20:41:10 GMT
That's the only heliconius I've seen in the wild, the zebra, I was on holiday in Cuba approx 20 years ago and I love these butterflies, so much so I have an un heated greenhouse in my garden that is full of Passion flower vines, each year I get 10-20 pupae and let them hatch in there and fly all summer, I get melpomene, I'm in the U.K so the temperatures ain't great but from early June to late August I have quite a few flying around in there, busily nectaring on lantana. My dream is to retire to the south of France and hopefully I'll have a very large polly tunnel full of Passion flower and heliconius everywhere.
Rich
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Post by Paul K on Jan 28, 2016 4:59:15 GMT
Very lovely subfamily in particular Heliconius genus. I have seen many of them in South America and they are beautiful to observe indeed. I am missing them here in Thailand. Here is my only drawer I have collected in Costa Rica and French Guiana.  I would travel there one more time just to see them in the wild again. Paul |
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Post by trehopr1 on Jan 28, 2016 5:51:15 GMT
Very nice drawer indeed Paul ! Lots of nice varied Heliconiid species there with some Ithomiines thrown in. Particularly like the first 4 specimens in column 4. Similar orange/black combination yet each individual in its own right. Could be all four are the same species... Thank you for showing us your wonderful self caught beauties.
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Post by Paul K on Jan 28, 2016 6:19:54 GMT
Thank you Trehopr.
I don't have access to the labels as my collection is stored in Canada but if I remember well those are H.erato and H. melpomene variations. They are also cross breading making a beautiful hybrids and aberrations.
Paul
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Post by terry2014 on Jan 28, 2016 12:52:30 GMT
Very nice drawer indeed Paul ! Lots of nice varied Heliconid species there with some ithomines thrown in. Particularly like the first 4 specimens in column 4. Similar orange/black combination yet each individual in its own right. Could be all four are the same species... Thank you for showing us your wonderful self caught beauties. Hello trehopr1, I sent you two P.M.can you check your spam. If you cannot find them please email me and I will reply. Terry. |
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Post by wollastoni on Jan 28, 2016 17:43:17 GMT
As I have nearly never been to South America, I have met only one Heliconiidae in my life ! I remember having been striked by the beauty and the poetry of its slow and delicate flight.
It was a beautiful black and red one in the Mexican forest near the impressive Coba pyramid
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Post by Adam Cotton on Jan 28, 2016 18:50:31 GMT
Pauk K said "I am missing them here in Thailand".
You can see quite a number of Heliconiinae here, just not genus Heliconius. For example Cethosia and Vindula are Asian representatives of this group, and even feed on local Passiflora species.
Adam.
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Post by wollastoni on Jan 28, 2016 19:09:17 GMT
And even some South American Heliconiinae in Thailand like the invasive Dryas iulia.
But I agree with Paul, they don't have the magics of Heliconius.
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Post by jmg on Jan 30, 2016 14:56:06 GMT
Among others drawers, one with ecuadorian Heliconiinae (left), a second with samples from French Guyana (those from Panama and Colombia are still in papers or on the spreading board ; those from Mexico, Belize, Brazil, Peru in others drawers) :  |
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Post by cabintom on Feb 1, 2016 15:10:49 GMT
I'm quite partial to the Acraea and Telchinia groups here in Africa, even if they aren't as showy as many of the specimens already figured here.
At the moment, I think my favourite species are the Telchinia encedon an encedana sisters. They're far from spectacular but it took me over 2 years to figure out how to tell them apart and they're amazingly variable (though T. encedon much more so).
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